UKCCSC News 22 October 2009

Hi Folks,

Things are hotting up in the run-up to the Copenhagen Climate talks (Dec 7 – 18th-ish), when 20,000 people will fly across the world to reduce carbon emissions… apologies for the length of this mail and for all the things I’ve missed out!

1) At the UNFCCC meeting held in Bangkok over 2 weeks in September-October, progress was made on the successor to Kyoto;

“The UNFCCC, drawing 4,000 negotiators and observers to Bangkok for two weeks to prepare for a new climate deal to replace the Kyoto Protocol, succeeded in its main task of shortening a draft negotiating text from 280 pages to about 100.” Earth Times (9 Oct)

But we’re not there yet:

“Bangkok climate talks leave tough political issues for Copenhagen”

https://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/289393,bangkok-climate-talks-leave-tough-political-issues-for-copenhagen.html

2) The IEA released a(nother) report on CCS at the same meeting:

“Carbon emissions will fall 3% due to recession, say world energy analysts” Guardian (Oct 6)

“But the world’s premier energy analysts calculated that to avoid dangerous climate change, countries around the world will have to spend $400bn a year building more than 350 new nuclear plants and 350,000 wind turbines in the next 20 years.”

https://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/oct/06/carbon-cuts-recession-iea

IEA press release (just skim down to the 10 trillion figure for the total cost, which is probably all most others have done!)

https://www.iea.org/Textbase/press/pressdetail.asp?PRESS_REL_ID=290

The report itself is an excerpt of the (as yet unpublished) 2009 World Energy Outlook. The excerpt is currently at:

https://www.iea.org/weo/docs/weo2009/climate_change_excerpt.pdf

3) Here’s where some of that cash will come from:

“Funding a low-carbon future” European Commission (8 Oct)

“In a plan for allocating the money, the commission calls for €16bn for solar power over the next 10 years, €13bn for carbon capture and storage, €7bn for nuclear and €6bn for wind.”

There is a link to the Strategic Energy Technology Plan and other relevant EC documents

https://ec.europa.eu/news/energy/091008_en.htm

4) And here’s some more cash:

“The European Union’s executive Commission recommended the winners of EU funding for projects demonstrating capture and storage technology to the European Parliament…” Reuters (16 Oct)

“…Germany, the Netherlands, Britain, Poland, Spain and Italy.”

Well, that’s what you wanted to know wasn’t it?

“The EU Parliament has four weeks to raise objections and the final list of winners will be published in mid-November at the earliest.”

https://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE59F2ZL20091016

5) This is one of the above:

“The plant will be a demonstration plant at Hatfield in Yorkshire which has been scheduled after winning a €180m from the European Union. Additionally, those funds in a previously arranged agreement are going to be doubled by the UK government.” Electric (19 Oct)

https://www.electric.co.uk/news/powerfuel-power-wins-eu-fund-for-ccs-coal-facility-12341286.html

6) News from the UK Government competition CCS:

“New Kingsnorth coal plant delayed” BBC News (8 Oct)

“It said it would be delayed until about 2016 because electricity demand had fallen during the global recession.”

Predictably: “Greenpeace said E.On’s decision was “good news for the climate”.”

https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/8296076.stm

E.ON maintain that they are still in the competition:

“EON’s Kingsnorth still in carbon capture contest” Reuters (8 Oct)

https://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSL824121020091008

7) I can admit to personal involvement in this one:

“Study will look at UK’s carbon storage potential” Edie (9 Oct)

“The ETI, a company backed by Government and energy majors BP, EDF Energy, E.ON and Shell as well as Caterpillar and Rolls-Royce, plans to led the £3.5m research project which will help pin down an answer to the question of exactly how much storage capacity is practically available in the UK.”

https://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=17088&channel=0&title=Study+will+look+at+UK%27s+carbon+storage+potential

8) Energy will be more expensive in the future, according to ‘Project Discovery’ run by Ofgem, the Office of the Gas and Electricity Markets. You have until Nov 20th to have your say :

“Fear of steep energy bill rises” BBC (9 Oct)

“Domestic UK energy bills could rise by 60% by 2016 in a worst-case scenario identified by the energy regulator.

However, most other estimates outlined in the Ofgem report would see prices rise between 14% and 25% above inflation by 2020.”

https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8297882.stm

The consultation document can be accessed from:

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Pages/MoreInformation.aspx?file=Discovery_Scenarios_ConDoc_FINAL.pdf&refer=Markets/WhlMkts/Discovery

9) Canada: Alberta has a $2-billion pool for CCS projects. Now they’ve dipped into the pool along with the Federal Government:

“Alberta announces 15-year $850M carbon capture and storage project” Canadian Press (9 Oct)

“The two levels of government have teamed up with Shell Canada, Chevron Canada and Marathon Oil Sands to push forward the Quest project, which is projected to eventually collect up to 1.1 million tonnes of climate change-causing carbon dioxide a year from the Scotford oilsands upgrader…”

https://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hjsQ7qr503xF2HyqBgG3ZNPYRWeQ

10) “US trials first carbon storage project in unmineable coal seam” ClickGreen (22 Sept)

“Researchers from Consol Energy, West Virginia University, and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) are collaborating in the £8 million field trial, located in Marshall County, West Virginia.”

https://www.clickgreen.org.uk/news/international-news/12675-us-researchers-trial-first-carbon-storage-project-in-unmineable-coal-seam.html

11) “Lethal gas may have to be stored under villages, says adviser” Times (10 Oct)

The advisor is Nick Riley, head of science policy at the British Geological Survey.

“New bylaws might have to be passed prohibiting bedrooms on the ground floor because of the risk of CO₂ poisoning as people slept.”

The paper version included a map of potential on-land storage areas. Here at Edinburgh we’ve had phone calls from residents in these areas asking if it’s for real…

https://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6868896.ece

Here’s the antidote:

“Dr Mike Stephenson, head of energy science at the British Geological Survey, said it was unlikely that onshore storage will ever be used because of much larger and more convenient places to store gas offshore” Lincolnshire Echo (22 Oct)

https://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/news/Power-plant-concerns-allayed-experts/article-1412233-detail/article.html

12) The question of the emissions of the developing World is an issue that isn’t going to go away any time soon, the report below (by authors that many of us know well) makes interesting reading:

“The report, commissioned by Christian Aid, examines whether CCS could be a suitable technology for cutting down India’s carbon dioxide emissions. Drawing on a survey of energy experts with particular knowledge of India, it also explores how CCS might be developed and deployed in the Indian context.” Carbon Capture Journal (Oct 12)

https://www.carboncapturejournal.com/displaynews.php?NewsID=457&PHPSESSID=6v9j6kuhuh78mvqr2u5rvcpth1

The report itself is at:

https://www.cleantech.com/news/5139/report-ccs-option-india

13) Remember the Gorgon LNG project with CCS attached in Aus?

“Hyundai Heavy Wins Record $2.06 Billion Gorgon Order” Bloomberg.com (21 Oct)

https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601081&sid=a.MrdRzHnJtA

14) Apparently we have till 2014 to save the World from ourselves:

“The world needs a low-carbon industrial revolution – and it needs it soon. WWF’s latest analysis says that if the world’s industries aren’t on a low-carbon track by 2014 at the latest, runaway climate change is almost inevitable.”

https://www.wwf.org.uk/news_feed.cfm?3395

The report is at:

www.wwf.org.uk/filelibrary/pdf/climatesolutionreport.pdf

15) News from Finland that involves transport of all captured CO₂ by ship due to a lack of suitable storage sites in the host country:

“Siemens chosen for Finnish carbon capture and storage project” Power Engineering (14 Oct)

“The coal fired power plant is located at Pori in Western Finland and has an installed capacity of 565 MW. The CCS demonstration is planned to treat approximately 50 per cent of Meri-Pori’s flue gas and to capture 90 per cent of the CO₂ it contains. Therefore it reduces the plant’s CO₂ emissions by some 1.25 million tonnes annually.”

https://pepei.pennnet.com/display_article/370057/6/ARTCL/none/none/1/Siemens-chosen-for-Finnish-carbon-capture-and-storage-project/

That’s all Folks, surely enough for anyone?

Mark